Many people mistakenly assume that working from home means having more time to pursue your hobbies or engage in a healthy lifestyle like exercising daily or cooking healthy meals. This is not entirely true, as creating a work-life balance can be difficult when the location of your workspace is also where most of your life happens.
The pros and cons of working from home
There is no denying about the benefits of this work setup. These include:
- flexibility in working hours
- being able to wear anything you want
- no colleagues to distract you
- more time with family and pets
- time to do some household chores
There are, of course, downsides, which makes working from home not ideal for everyone. Some of the challenges include:
- lots of distractions (household chores, pets/kids that require attention, and the temptation to watch TV or surf leisure websites)
- social isolation and lack of interaction/collaboration
- cost and burden of setting up a home office
- undermined productivity (as it is easier to delay the start of work or slip into slackness)
How you can stay healthy
Another sad fact about this setup is that it is also to miss regular meals, workouts, sleep, as well as social interaction. Fortunately, there are many strategies that you can adapt to stay healthy while working from home. Family practice centers in Orem share a few things that can help:
- Get out of the house. Make it a habit to go out least once a day. Take your dogs/kids to the park, meet a friend for lunch, or walk to the nearest café. These can benefit both your body and mind, as it helps promotes interaction and may boost creativity.
- Spend your breaks wisely. You are your own boss when you work at home, so it is easy to turn a short break into a long nap or a series/movie marathon. If you need a break, it is best not to sleep or watch anything. Do something worthwhile or relaxing like taking a brisk walk, listening to music, or practicing meditation exercises.
- Eat right. Plan your meals ahead of time and engage in healthy meal prep. You should also stock your kitchen and pantry with healthy snacks and foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Be sure to limit soda and sweetened drinks, as well as processed and pre-packaged foods. Check out this post for healthy snack ideas.
- Make time for a workout. Regular physical activity offers many rewards, such as increased energy, lower stress levels, and better concentration. The sad part is, it is easy to miss workouts when you’re too busy at work. This is why you need to schedule it, put it in your calendar, and commit to following it. You should also find a routine that works for you like a jog around the neighborhood, a gym class, or even a YouTube workout or yoga.
- Create a schedule. While you have the freedom to start and end your workday anytime you want, it is still essential to create a schedule. This means setting a start and finish time, as well as scheduling your breakfast, lunch, workout, and meetings. You should also set your work hours depending on your body rhythms or internal clock. If you, for instance, are a morning person, you can start early and finish in the mid-afternoon. If you, on the other hand, sleep late, you can start working at noon into the evening.
Schedule and organize your tasks and don’t let the comfort of your own place keep you from being productive and healthy. You can also benefit from seeing a family doctor or health checkups and other recommendations to stay healthy.